Histoire De Melody Nelson

Well. What a conflicting album this is. On the one hand, it's brilliant. Musically, lyrically, stylistically it is genuinely one of the most compelling, captivating and consuming albums I think I've ever heard. The production of it is great. On the other - the subject matter is a bit icky. I guess it's meant to be. Brilliant album. And L'hotel Particulier is absolutely stand-out. Can clearly see how it influenced Jarvis Cocker for F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.

A mí en particular me a encantado, un adelantado a su tiempo.

Shite

The bass playing on this is killer. I don't speak French so I'm only listening to the music. Reading about the lyrical content and it's pretty atrocious. If this were in English I would never listen to it.

The music was okay but the concept and vocals were pretty gross.

Great stuff. Don't remember my HS French, but this has a midnight cafe feel to it.

1.5/5

This is another artist that I've never heard of, and I didn't know what to expect either having read a little about the album. I have to say it was better than I was expecting. It's a very relaxed, easy-going sounding album that puts one in the mood. Several tracks stood out and sucked me in. Great drums, choir-like vocals, and bass in several spots of the albums. I think the half-singing, half-spoken vocals are just okay. Favorite tracks: Melody, En Melody, and Cargo culte.

This one sounds really-really interesting

Strange that a record like this is still on the list. I am very much anti-woke and strongly believe that history cannot be rewritten to satisfy modern thinking and behaviour. But I do not include paedophilia in this so I find this record extremely distasteful. My french is not good enough to understand the lyrics but the album cover tells you all you need to know about the record and record reviews leave you in no doubt. There is nothing musically of any great significance so why is this on the list? Is it a tick box exercise to ensure France has a proportionate number of entries on the list? The greatest joy I got from this recording was when I read the Wiki entry describing the plot. I laughed out loud when I read Melody was on her way back to Sunderland when she met her demise. Sunderland??!!. Not believing everything I read in Wiki I checked the lyrics and sure enough Sunderland is there. Sunderland is a great city with great people but not exactly a city one would think of in the UK for the romantic heroine in this story to come from. Might be a subliminal message in that but can’t help wondering if Mr Gainsbourg ever visited Sunderland when researching this story if you see what I mean? Back to the album - wish there was a 0 rating as 1 gives it too much credibility.

Album was definitely a vibe, couldn’t understand it but I liked it Top tracks: Melody

This hits a great groove and sustains it for its entire runtime. I can't not think about that viral video with all those kids singing at him. Love to the French. When this collection breaks out of English-language albums it really makes me wonder about the selection criteria for this list. Because this is French spoken word poetry you need to have the translation open in front of you to get something out of it, but there are a lot of great non-English albums that focus a lot more on the music than the language, so it's less of a barrier for casual listening.

Beautiful music, but bloody hell

Strangely compelling. Reminds me of Jah Wobble - lots of catchy bass lines, with semi-spoken vocals over the top. The subject matter is extremely dodgy - a variation on the older man/underage girl sexual liaison a la Lolita - but this is not unexpected for Serge Gainsbourg.

Listen this at: 05/02/2024

This is kinda good. Don’t read the Wikipedia

Cool

This was a surprise, I love this. That last track really hits. Cinematic, those cellos absolutely ripp

Oh dear.

Quite liked this. Will listen again.

listened to again very artistic and modern for a 1971 album

Probably best I don't understand the lyrics, given the context. Can hear the influence on Air

If soft core porn were an album. This would be it. The male voice trying to be sultry gave me a bit of cringe thinking that he was talking to the 15 year old girl on the album cover. It's the kind of album you listen to at night after your wife has gone to bed. All that aside, the music had nice get high and relax feel to it. It seemed almost timeless considering it's from 1971. It could easily have fit into any decade. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.

I would totally rate this higher if I knew french, as reading the lyric translation so I can understand the story of the album really adds a whole lot, and Serge is regarded as a master of wordplay. But as is for me currently, the album is really carried by the last 2 tracks being so fantastic, while the first 5 are just okay

Interesting chill album

Heerlijke 70s muziek, maar dan met sensueel Frans spoken word, gefluister, en gezang erover heen.

I'll start positive by stating that the strings and instrumentals are gorgeous here, with a lot of the big moments left up to them rather than Serge Gainsbourg, and it pays off fantastically. I also find the short runtime to be a Godsend when so many albums feel so long now, even the forty minute ones seem to run me dry, so something more stomach-able such as this leads me feeling far less exhausted than an album that sounds like this would leave me were it hitting an hour. That all being said, I really can't stand that whisper singing Gainsbourg does, as whilst I can see the inspiration for bands like Pulp, the way the microphone seems to peak really irritates my ears, like an annoying, overtly French ASMR. Maybe the songs are really nuanced, but being a stupid American, I couldn't understand them if I tried. Here, let's look up what this album is about! ...oh. Gross. Still, great strings, perhaps another topic with actual singing and this would be an awesome album. Instead, it is most definitely French, and I can fill my French needs elsewhere.

Disgusting. Should be 0 stars.

Things I'm not particularly excited about here -French concept album -French concept album about relationship with underage girl (I don't know what the age of consent is in France, but round here this shit is considered gross) I don't know what they're saying, so I don't know exactly how much to dislike the subject matter, but I know that the cover is gross. I honestly wish I hadn't read the Wikipedia summary of this album, since I feel like there's no way I can give this a positive rating. I like the music overall. I wish that the vocals trended more toward singing rather than narrating, but the instrumentals are varied and interesting. Sometimes you have an orchestra, sometimes it's stripped down to just a guitar and drums 2/5 too bad this album is about a barely post-pubescent girl being stripped down by a middle aged man. It would be cool if it wasn't so gross

I figured I hadn't heard this before, but it turns out it's been so heavily sampled, that I'd actually heard almost all of it, just not in the original form. It's an interesting tale of the loss of innocence and the music is just sublime throughout, apart from the laughing in one of the tracks on side 2, which was quite horrible. Difficult to rate, but I'm going with 4 stars as I will probably listen to this again and I found nothing to dislike here, even the fact I didn't understand much of the lyrics.

What a nonce.

Et si délicieuse enfant Aimable petite conne Je n'sais pas ce que je te ferai 🤢 poor Jane Birkin at 24 playing a breathy FOURTEEN year old, against Serge in his 40s. I don’t get the sense it’s meant to be an unsympathetic unreliable narrator considering he released a song called lemon incest with his 13 year old daughter, with a video of them barely dressed in bed together, then said the song wasn’t about incest. Creepy creepy creepy.

No. Thanks. First song is just talking in a seducing voice. Then it doesn't get much better when he sings.

Melody and Cargo Culte are excellent - sampled by David Holmes (Don’t Just Die Yet)

kind of a messed up theme ... actually really messed up. Probably best I don't understand the words. Good funky music

I did really love a lot of this. When you read the back story and the concept behind the album it's a bit ick. But you can feel the influence on bands like Air, especially the bass.

Too creepy for me (theme of lyrics is gross)

2+

not for me - a couple songs were groovy and I considered maybe using them for yoga…wouldn’t really make sense tho.

apart from the ephebophilia, this album explores interesting avenues sonically (i don't know french so i can't really critique the songwriting) and is a really nice listen. again, forgetting about the lyrics, it feels artful yet fitting to listen to drinking a glass of wine or something.

Ahhhh… THE FRENCH… in ASMR. Felt like they were trying to sell extremely expensive French perfume to me. Oh boy, I just read the wiki 🙄 🚩…I looked even more into his wiki and it so much worst than I thought. “ Incest Lemon”. That laugh scared the shit out of me. 6/10 was going to be my rating but I don’t support groomers/pedophiles. (Shouldn’t include albums wikis if the rating is solely based on their music) 1/10

The first song is just a long soundtrack for men’s cologne. Wait wait wait wait wait… this album is about a middle aged man romantically interested in a 15 year old girl? Wow times have changed. My goodness so much tongue clicking in “L’hotel particulier” the music was great. But the singing and the pedophilia need to go. I now feel strange having listened to this even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics. It gets a 5 purely for the music. Nothing else. 5/10

Don't whisper sweet french nothings into my ear. That one song was really good till the laughter started. 4/10

I like the part where he spoke moist French into my ears. 6/10

Var ska man börja? Pedo-temat? Pratsången? Det gubbkåta omslaget? Nej, jag orkar inte.Jag vill inte tänka en sekund mer på detta utan gå vidare i mitt liv.

Tycker ändå Serge har nån kvalitet trots tölpighten. Till hans försvar så verkar han ha varit mindre pedofil än vissa andra artister på den här listan

Första låten är riktigt bra, trots en talande röst. Älskar jammandet med stråkar. Andra låten är sämre. Sjätte låten är svinnajs. Till en barnröst skrattar. Plötsligt låter det som bra porrmusik. Sista "låten" (cargo culte) är knappt en låt. Spoken word mot lite jam. Fransmän är sjuka i huvudet. Musikaliskt bitvis ok. Men resten. Va fan Har lyssnat en del på Serges dotter, Charlotte. Som är bra. Hoppas hennes album IRM kommer

Jag väger inte in det faktum att detta är en pedofilplatta utan betygsätter endast det musikaliska, exklusive texterna som jag förstås inte förstår (vilket såklart är extra synd i detta fall). Börjar bra med rätt sköna och medryckande basgångar. Andra låten tycker jag är riktigt bra, trots en kåtstönande 15-åring. Därefter är det helt okej. Ah Melody sticker ut som lite bättre än de andra (som inte är mer än OK). Helt okej skiva, en stabil trea.

Melody //

This is what this whole 1001 greatest albums process is all about. Completely left-field choice, something I'd never even heard of before, a concept album in a different language - and it's a real, genuine hidden gem.

Between a four and a five. Leant the generous side due to its influence on Tranquility Hotel. And to mildly irk Myfanwy.

Faszinierend. Funk, Trip-hop, Folk .... Wurzel von so vielem, was ich mag.

Music, 5. This is fun, engaging, and super different. Love the guitars and drums big time. I love the dudes voice, and the woman singer is alright too when she pops in. Buuuuuuuuut then I read about what the album was about. There is no way I can give this more than one star. I know times have changed but common! Fucking gross. So here we have a 5 star album getting a one because of some Epstein wannabe pedo shit.

not too bad 3

Sometimes I was vibin, other times, I was in the middle of a perfume commercial - 5/10.

I have lots of thoughts… First song felt like gossip girl vibes w the talking over the instrumentals being p sparse, rest of the album kinda felt like a movie soundtrack. Idk how I’d rate if I read the Wikipedia after I listened bc I really liked the instrumentals, but the French man talking is very not sexy to me… and him repeatedly saying melody is so gross and also not musically entertaining either !! also the sex noises in en melody were very disturbing! Apparently the album cover is a photo of his partner who is pregnant and 18 yrs younger than him.. and they got together while she was 22 and married to someone else which is interesting ig. And she’s the one featured in some of the songs. I like the instrumentals but read way too much Wikipedia ab this to not think it’s super fucked up and perverted and be icked out by the voices. Not gonna rate out of 10 bc idk what I would even put

Very interesting. Weird sometimes but pretty groovy other times, especially in Melody - Prise complète. I wanted to rate it higher but I really did not like having this French guy asmr whisper at me all the time. I did like his voice when he started singing though, kinda reminded me of the Leonard Cohen husk. Overall not something I’d listen to a lot but didn’t hate it. 5.5/10

3/10 - When listening to cargo culte I thought that Skyrim had opened because the background sounded like the intro song. Valse was not bad but most of them were just weird and too sensual for my liking.

the music was ok but all the vocals were really bad 3/10

This is weird. It doesn’t sound that bad, but the thought of this old ass man trying to get with a middle schooler is pretty disgusting and kinda ruined the experience for me, even if it wasn’t a true story. 1/10

Honestly very interesting musically, but the ASMR vibes of a Frenchman speaking directly into my ear canal makes me hate this. I'm sure the music videos were cool but man I can't stand it. The instrumentation is the only thing keeping this from a 1 for me.

actually liked this, very French, very baguette.

Disgusting and boring

Un grand grand classique, orchestral, drôle et sensuel.

I get it but kinda just artsy french stuff

Interesting but I don't I'll ever listen to it again

suc le blu... No thanks. #IgnorantAmericanHere

Great loungy, smokey style with psychedelic guitar and the occasional burst of strings. I wish I had subtitles because the spoken word French lyrics are definitely a focal point in the mix. Okay Wikipedia has a plot summary because this is a concept album: A guy is driving when he accidentally hits a 14-year-old girl on a bike. He falls in love with her and takes her virginity but then she dies in a plane crash and he mourns her death. 😬 🤷🏻‍♂️ The music is cool though.

Man this really really wants you to listen on headphones and have some kind of experience with this guy ASMR'ing his wet voice directly into your brain stem. I'm impressed that they were able to get this sound in the 1970's but maybe it's just because the music is mixed so low that you have to pump the volume and then get assaulted by his romantic voice. I write on these reviews sometimes that you "have to be in the right context" to enjoy an album and it's never been more true than for this album. I don't know if maybe it's just because I have a little bit of a headache right now but I can't be bothered to decipher this album more- to read the translation to my language, or to see what is really going on in any other avenue. It's just a sound that I'm not interested in as a whole at the moment.

Didn't like at all

Viimenen pedo konsepti sai 3 tähteaä tai noh se konsepti heh meikä poika pedo tämä hauskaa hommaa myösikin ranskaksi tässä lähellä suuläpeä microfoni ja kertoo ranskaksi minäpuhuja ajavansa tytön yli autolla ja vaihtavat siinö sanaset narraattori herra keskiiässä ja tyttö siknä sitten nelisentoista & hotelliin ja neitsyys & tyttö kuolee onnettomuudessa & surunvallittelut herralta vikakappale

Has echt versuecht mir da bim schaffe chlige ahzlose aber so nachere stund han ich die tüüf französisch Stimm nüme chöne ghöre. Chan mir nid vorstelle das meh da album konstant chan lose. 2/5

Ok yay endlich mal ned uf englisch? Melody- interesting? Mag s konzept und d musig im hindergrund aber idk the talking in this case nöd soo mis. Aber overall vibe isch nice. Striichinstrument in combi mit distorted guutar ? Mer liebets! UGH YIKES d frauestimm mitem amerikanische akzent hetts grad so killt für mich ohno Ich weiss wie ned öb ichs wük chegge s ganze… versuech mich mal ihzlese?? I’m not getting this obsession with melody like… Ok apparently this guy is important in france idk Ooooooookay. Okay. Aso es isch es concept album- massive storytelling! Hm ich wünscht mis französisch wär guet gnueg zum all wortspiel und so z verstah und ned nur generell um was es gaht? Viellicht chöntis denn meh appreciate… Okay en melody hett mich mitem upbeat sound überrascht, fun! - ok ned nur mitem beat biki überrascht worde lol what Final verdict: ich glaub ich cha zwenig französisch zums wük als kunst appreciate. Ich denke s album muss andersch glost werde, wienis jetz lose. Dont think i’m artsy enough to understand… I really wanted to like this aber iwie it’s not it for me… This was NOT easy listening…

s erste nöd englische album? mega ume. erste track grooovy. er redt afoch nur. giti jo huere geil?? me poetisch, uuuff strings figged jo hert ine huere geil. uuuuf kontrabass mit boge. alte dynaaaamik. aaaah do isch d Jane Birkin. Ballade de Melody Nelson. er singt? bass immerno seehr geil. ok cute song, sher intim und so. valse de melody. strings mega schöön. ah melody. er will sex mit ihre sie isch 14ni chiiiiiiillig. l'hôtel particulier. er treit sie dur es hotel, s instrumental isch haard, s klavier isch mega geil. En Melody. Drums geeeil, hinked es bitz aber genau cool. Bass immer geil. melody mega am kreische und so. ich glaub die zwei sind am bumse? und denn gohts sie uf sunderland und stirbt wells flugzüg abstürzt. Cargo Culte foht glich ah wie de erst song. Bass und giti mega cool. uuuuuuh de chor. uuuuuh yes aaaaaah. ah cargo cult isch e religiöses ding zum verstorbeni uferwecke er will d melody wieder. fuck de chor insane. nimel "tu t'appelles comment?" "Melody" "Melody Comment" "Melody Nelson". Giti wird Fuzzy und so und de chor macht oooooooh orgle time und alles. Jean-Claude Vannier het die Arrangements aaanegfitzt. Bass extrem schön gspielt und groovy. Drums troche und tasty. Gainsbourg flüsterlibueb und mega poetisch. Konzept isch fucked up aber spannend, genauso wie d Buech Lolita irgendwie fasziniert. Mega guets Konzeptalbum, bin für meh französischi Musig uf dere Liste. De erst und de letst Song het mi extrem packt. Au cool wies eigentlich de glich Song isch aber eimol lernt er sie kenne und eimol suecht er sie vergeblich nochdem sie gstorbe isch. S erste mol isch de Song irgendwie happy und am Schluss ischer verzwiiflet. Sehr starks Album.

ok also ich glaub me muess schochli de kontext wüsse vom album insgesamt bin ich chli hii- und hergrisse französisch isch unglaublich schöni singsprach, glichzitig redet und raunt er meh als dass er singt, was zuegebenermasse aber au sehr zum album passt musikalisch findis recht geil mis problem isch halt auchli, nur wills es kontroverses thema isch, heisst nanig, dass es weg dem es spannends thema isch (looking at you Homo Faber) L’Hôtel particulier findi glaub musikalisch am coolste und s kreische und alldas züg findi iwie no spannend??? wie das gekreische und musig ufenandprallet, aber schlussendlich würd ich das trotzdem nümme lose (usser so wenni s ganze album am stuck lose, was glaub eh de sinn vom ganze isch) ja schlussendlich weiss ich nöd genau wo hii demit, aber es 3 hets scho verdient, au wenn ich wohl selte wird zum album zruggcho

Of course...

I don’t like the concept for this concept album, but this is by far the best concept album I’ve heard. Maybe if I was French and understood the nuance of the lyrics I could take a better stance. But musically it’s phenomenal.

Didn’t enjoy this one, didn’t sound very poppy. Not a fan, 2/5.

I could smell the cigarettes through my speakers.

beautiful

Damn the French have disappointed me. Not bad if I didn't know what it was about. Well even then, I maybe would have given a polite 2, but "En Melody" had to fucking ruin that. Yeah whoa I can't believe I'm giving a EUROVISION WINNER and the songwriter of "Poupee de cire, poupee de son" such a low rating but this is rough.

A pedophile mumbling over elevator music. Yeah, absolutely not.

Sleazy old school porno French ASMR that will probably inspire an A24 film. Also, this Gainsbourg guy has quite a wild career.... 3.5/5

Disgusting

Wow i really liked this. The strings were magnificent - I felt as though I were transported to another era, Paris in the 60s, traipsing around the Latin quarter w my bohemian friends discussing the revolution, love, and the modern novel. Classy album, sometimes there would be some weird sounds in the middle of songs that I was not a fan of.

It goes hard. The instrumentals are very engaging and match the lyrics well. It is similarly adept as Lolita at handling its subject matter. It’s a very captivating listen. I like how the beginning and end sort of mirror each other. En Melody did a great job of instrumentally capturing what is left to the mind of the listener.

What the hell is this. What are we doing here. Its not like it has zero musical merit but definitely not enough to make up for how creepy it would make me feel to listen to this regularly. Why is he so close to the mic. God damn the french

I'm a read along with the lyrics type person, especially after reading the wiki, so I found the english translations and it gave me the ick. "That Melody Nelson, An adorable little girl, And such a delicious child" yuck.

Of course it’s a French guy

Listen - I’m the first one who’ll tell you how much I hate the French, but this one is nuts and kind of fun

I like the low sexy voice and the laid back, chill vibes of the tunes. It's extremely samey. After the first track you can predict what the rest of the album will sound like (exactly like the first track) There's also perhaps the most annoying laugh ever recorded hidden about halfway through this

Listen this albums content is problematique. But the music so so my vibe! Guitar riffing over an orchestra! Sounds a lot like Beck.

I felt like the EQ was all off. I was constantly adjusting the volume. But I don't know why I bothered. No melodies 1.4

Not bad. "Avant-pop". Glad I don't understand French because this subject matter doesn't hold up. 3.3

Pleasantly surprised me. Got better with each song. The deep base and delicate guitars gave it a kind of profound feeling to it. Overall though, I probably won't visit it again.

just did not enjoy it

Histoire de Melody Nelson - "Story of Melody Nelson" is a 1971 concept album by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. This French pop album is Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished works - dare I say, his magnum opus, in addition to one of the best French language albums. It's a short album of songs that tell the story of an older man falling in love with a young girl, then dealing with the loss of that love. The music on this album is unique as it's not rock or pop, but something else interesting - similar to trip hop. The elegant pop music influenced French rock music and many other artists for generations to come. Although I can't speak French, I was still able to enjoy the music on this album. The early trip hop beats were a treat and the song production is phenomenal. I agree with all the critics that like this album, it is amazing and influential.

Pretty psych and different. Weird French vibes, takes a certain mood to put on, not my favorite serge album but some very cool stuff on it

Sweet but a bit boring

Good. Not great. Accomplished, but indulgent. Evocative, but uneasy

A really short French album where a guy sings about having sex with a 14 year old girl. Like, I get that this album wasn't exactly meant to make me feel comfortable or anything, but god damn, that's a really icky topic to base your concept album around. Not going to knock off points because of that though, of course - that's like watching "Silence of the Lambs" and getting upset at all the cannibalism. Mostly just feel indifferent towards this based on the simple facts that: 1. This is a very lyrics-heavy album. 2. I don't speak French. Also this man has a lot of saliva in his mouth.

4.3/5 Was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Best track: Melody

Funky Dunky French!

nasty ass French man whispering in my ear for an hour. 1/5. 1 point for music

This felt a bit like a smarmy French dignitary was chatting up my wife at a dinner party.

Pretty boring. Some of the instrumentals are nice but the vocals are uninspiring. Not my style.

This guy needs to get the mic out of his mouth. Also looked up what the album was about, as it is in French, and the dude is just a pedophile.

Hahaha... I have no idea what's going on. Nice music behind the poetry, though

Musically this is just astonishing, like nothing else really. You can query the narrative, but it's clearly a character - like the musical equivalent of Lolita

Very cool precursor to Lou Reed

I probably would have scored this one higher if the subject matter was not so cringe. I did enjoy the music and listening to French music makes me feel fancy.

Nah

Couldn’t get through the whole album.

Songs were slow and groovy, I loved how the bass was featured in many of the songs. The concept behind the album felt weak, although the fact that I don't speak French probably didn't help.

Weird frogs

Short album and listened though but I want to go back and watch the music video that was created (along with subtitles). Wikipedia entry interesting. 2.6/5

It's hilarious to me that a breakout French concept album would be about a man who (what else?) seduces a teenage girl. So yeah I struggled taking this seriously but can't deny the music is pretty great. I'm a huge Beck fan so I also loved hearing the inspirations of Sea Change songs, especially Paper Tiger. I plan to delve deeper into Gainsbourg and see if he's got more hypnotic music, maybe about the allure of wine, women, and cheese, and the obscenity of EuroDisney.

Fuck this ode to pedophilia.

Essential Tracks L’hôtel particulier All tracks are essential to understand this album fully.

A gorgeous album musically - but hard to ignore the casual glorification of child abuse. It’s funny, but it’s not - risqué, fine, but uncomfortably so - I mean it achieves its goal of making you squirm and ‘pushing the boundaries’ and in a way making you think - but do I want to spend 28 mins in the skin of a Nabakov character? No. So despite the musical brilliance and the high minded concept - I’d rather put something else on rotation. That said it’s a good piece of art to make you wrangle with yourself.

Rating: 6/10

I liked it more than I thought I would. Even though it was all in french, I thought it had a great sound. Subject matter threw me off though. I can see where Portishead got some of their inspiration from.

Cool little French trip rock/jazz album

Eh... If I like French, I would appreciate it more. Tone and jazz rifts are OK. I know there is some challenges to plot lines

Amazing, super loved the vibe, sound, lyrics, keep listening!!! And check out more of his music too

I don’t speak French so i had mixed opinions. The instrumentals were nice but the vocals felt like a cologne commercial, less singing and more spoken word sounding, and it turns out it’s because it’s a narrative. Double twist is the narrative could alternately be titled “Ode to Pedophilia”… wack

With Histoire de Melody Nelson, Gainsbourg creates the first true (and perhaps only) concept album. Precursors first linked tracks thematically, then sonically, then historically, but the tracks were always separable from the whole; the music stood up by itself. Later attempts at concept albums have culminated in epic feats of navel-gazing. Histoire de Melody Nelson is the first album where the music is incidental to the story, and the story is incidental to a deeper philosophy of life. Gainsbourg wields rock music to pose us questions on sex and violence, to challenge us to confront the ideas posed by Nabakov, Ballard and Bataille. And before we know it, the music boils over, leaving us more stranded than we were before.

Like the bass. French is sexy. Got a bit repetitive though

I couldn't decide whether to give this a 5 or a 1. The bluesy background music is quite pleasing to the ear, but the microphone placement seemingly inside his larynx is unnecessary. The cohesiveness of the story and album as a whole is wonderful, but the subject matter is quite unsavoury, talking of a "delightful young child" whose "skirt is pulled up on her white pants". Overall, I like blues, I like spoken word, I dislike hearing the inside of someone's throat, I dislike paedophilia. 4/5.

I listened to this at work between parent teacher interviews. It felt a bit sleazy having a Frenchman talk provocatively into my ears during this time. The second last track, En Melody, was a highlight.

The audio equivalent to jamming three interlocking berets down onto your head, then sticking a Gauloise cigarette, soaked in Chartreuse, into each ear. I enjoyed this for what it was.

Stop breathing in my ear dude. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about this except how quintessentially French it is. Also, this story about pedophilia was especially revolting as I listened to this while taking care of my three year old daughter.

:/

Such a shame because the music is actually pretty good but the vocals and concept are weird and creepy as fuck.

I quite liked it! The instrumentals were very nice. Not sure about the talk-singing though

lost one star for perving on a minor, and another for being french. if you perv on minors, you deserve to suffer. if you’re french, fucking kill yourself. music was ok though.

Questionable concept for an album but great vocals and arrangement - 4 stars

Not quite get it....

Heb dit plaatje een jaartje geleden ontdekt, erg boeiend en raar. Net iets te lang alleen.

Interessante mix, rock, strijkers en hijgstem. Oh ja, en ongedefineerd gekrijs.

Ik word er helemaal relaxt van.

Fijn!

This was certainly interesting. My favorite song was Cargo culte. Wish I spoke French so I could know what he’s saying.

good sound, but pornographic in nature...not nourishing.

There were no redeeming qualities for this album

Absolutely brilliant. I’ve missed out on Serge and it’s good to have an introduction. This will go into rotation.

Ok

Oui oui?

My detailed evaluation of this album, step-by-step: ⭐⭐- Two from the beginning for not being from an English country. ⭐⭐⭐- OK, the music is a bit more experimental than I expected, but it's not bad ⭐ - (reading the Wikipedia page and discovering the plot of the album) ⭐⭐- Contextualized with some information regarding Serge Gainsbourg's career and importance for French culture

Disgusting. Shame on you for including this.

Music was pretty funky. Lyrics were all gibberish to me being in French. Not a fan of the spoken word style. Story is pretty gross.

I can’t listen to this album without thinking it’s a 28-minute perfume commercial, especially the opener “Melody.” Overall this seems like a nice little concept album about a girl named Melody, which we can just get from the title, but I can’t infer much more than that. The instrumentals are pleasant, but to be quite honest I just can’t take the French all that seriously in much anything they do. For some reason I’m imagining Steve Martin stumbling around as the Pink Panther. Oui oui! The only rockers I knew who were running around France in the early seventies were evading the authorities and working on one of the greatest albums of all time: the Stones with Exile on Main Street. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get an album like that one next.

Rollo.

I liked this a lot then read the Wikipedia page about it and I just cannot condone a sympathetically cast story about a middle aged man trying to take the virginity of a fourteen-year-old child.

1. Yeah, no thanks, not going to listen to a pedophilia-themed album.

Sexy. 4/5

Mumbling against a musical background. Not good.

Great sound. Where Beck got Sea Change

Well, that was definitely the best album about a middle aged man falling for a 14 year old girl that I've heard today. What's strange is I literally just returned from a business trip to France, which makes me wonder if the album generator is stalking me. In any case, this was interesting. I wish I could understand the lyrics, but musically it's pretty cool. It has a nice groove to it. 3 stars.

Did not appeal to me at all. I would not buy it.

The album starts off amazing with the first two tracks, but after that it become forgettable and it’s runtime doesn’t feel long enough for the album to be fully developed.

Would give zero if I could. It's not a provocative art piece to sexualize a 15 year old child like that (and have that child be portrayed by a grown woman moaning), especially if the artist went on to sexualize his 13 year old daughter who was unable to consent. Go and actually read some Nabokov or go touch some grass but don't listen to this. It's not worth it, you'll have to shower the ick off just to hear the boring porny baselines.

Was ist das für ne Pädoscheiße

Mér finnst þetta voða töff tónlist, það verður bara að segjast.

Downside of not speaking french: Not understanding a word of this sonic voyage of a concept album from Serge Gainsbourg. Upside of not speaking french: Not understanding that the concept is just paedophilia and other parts of french culture.

The musical equivalent of drinking wine and having a mistress. This album is unequivocally French. Also; did Serge Gainsbourg somehow invent trip hop in 1971?

Tres dodgy.

Creates trip hop 20 years early and uses it to fantasise about shagging children. So very French.

never been more glad not to understand the lyrics the music was dope though

i love the music. really don't vibe with the concept part of the "concept album."

that was interesting af

Despite the language barrier, I enjoyed this more than I expected to. There's some good guitar playing in there.

I know Serge Gainsbourg via his daughter, Charlotte, and his popular song Bonnie and Clyde. He's definitely a French staple, but the nature of this album is creepy & pedophilic. There's something about European men in the 70s that got away with A LOT of grooming of young women (read how Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones married & took custody of a teenager). Back to the album...I liked it. Maybe it's because I studied French for seven years & sometimes enjoy spoken word concept albums. I like the tone of Serge's voice & it made me want to revisit French (something I put back on my to-do list last week). I would listen again. 3.5 stars

Glad I don't speak French all that well. The subject matter of this album is creepy and gross. The music wasn't terrible though.

Interesting.

Well the Wiki is eye opening...

Nasally French voice that exudes a heavy passion for the storytelling. I catch words here and there, which is neat. Some cool background music too.

I couldn’t bring myself to even listen to an album about the grooming of a 15 yr old CHILD by a middle aged rich man whose sole intention was to seduce and fuck. So gross. This album shouldn’t be on a list except a sexual predators list. It’s 2023, women are fed the fuck up and we are not accepting nostalgia as a means to degrade and demoralize us. Read the room.

Totally fine. Not good. Not bad. 2.5 so 3. I guess.

Who recorded this Pepe LePew? Bloody awful!

music that i didn’t really love and lyrics in a language i don’t really understand. not my thing

La verdad es que es un discazo, una pena que los franceses den puto asco. Sería un 4 si no lo hubiese buscado en Wikipedia.

Okay

Love me some French ASMR. No really, I love the backing music and it sounds a bit ahead of its time. The story and lyrical content is really weird, but then again, I can’t understand much.

Like a French William Shatner.

French concept album, which was to be expected to be included in the 1001 list. Apart from a (great) compilation album, it is the only Serge Gainsbourg album in my cd collection. The plot is pretty stupid, but I am not able to understand the lyrics anyway, and the music is great, especially the final song, Cargo Culte. Score: 5 stars (9/10)

Some good music, but I'm getting very creepy vibes.

Interesting and captivating music with spoken words nicely draped over it. (Reading about the content of the story I guess this could not be produced in the 2020s anymore.)

Questionable concept but the guitar and arrangements on this are wonderful.

Fantastique

The mixture of overdrive guitar funk sound with the orchestra/choir, as well as that smooth ass french voice (I have no idea what they're saying). Makes this one of the most unique albums I've listened to.

16th August 2023 Listened a couple of days late cos this was Dusty’s birthday!! He’s here! Interstate how wide reaching this album is in terms of influence. It’s made up of lots of components which come together to tell a dark story with moody French narration.

Way different than anything I normally listen to. I kind of wish I could have understood the sing/speak that was going on, but from what I have read I doubt I really want to. 3.5/5

As odd as it gets

Melodie Nelson <3

I think I'm pregnant. Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson is an interesting spoken word album backed by period compositions for orchestras and electronic music. I never really wondered what a French Leonard Cohen would sound like, but I like it. 4/5

Who knew French music could be so fascinating? Fun album that holds up remarkably well for 50+ years.

Not my favorite Serge, but I really do love the groovy stuff.

sure

Unsure why people think the French language sounds sexy, in the context of this album in particular it sounds quite creepy and slimy, even if I hadn't read the context/story of the album on it's Wikipedia page. Good lord do yourself a favour and do not give this album a listen. This album is all about glamourising paedophilia, from this middle aged man who falls in love with a 14 year old girl and taking her virginity. No thanks, can't even deal. Not to mention the album "art" with a topless girl clutching at a doll, I just hope that the model they used was of age, but being the 70s probably not. I truly don't get the acclaim that this album has, considering it's subject matter. If the female protagonist was just 10 years older I wouldn't have this strong of a reaction to the album, there are some ok trip-hop spoken word beats underlying the story - from the short sample I listened to. However, there is no place in the world, or world of music where we should be praising a story like this. Listened to the first song as I was reading the Wikipedia page, then stopped after I read what it was about. Best: N/A Worst: Entire Album. 0 Stars if I could

Music was ok but it is hard to look past the subject matter

Very sultry, kind of interesting but it sounds very similar.

I think this is mostly a really strong album, though reading the wikipedia page on it made me bummed out about the subject matter/concept. Aside from the premise, the music is pretty great. There are a few short tracks in the middle of the album that don't do much for me but the strength of the standout tracks is enough to lift this one up. I was excited to get this one today because I definitely recognized the album cover and had a passing knowledge of Serge Gainsbourg but this gave me a welcome excuse to dig deeper. I ended up listening to the album a couple of times through. Standout Tracks: Melody, Ballade de Melody Nelson, En Melody, Cargo culte

I found this to be so creepy?

Wont listen again but v good

3/5 - liked the instrumentals but would have enjoyed more lyrics or singing.

This was quite a surprise for me actually. If I were to do this 'album a day' challenge again in 10 years I wonder if I would rank this one higher? There was a lot to uncover here - the overall story arc that the album provides is actually quite an interesting little fantasy, though it was hidden (to me) behind a different language and behind this weird 60's-ish obsession with relationships with really young girls.... nonetheless there is some SERIOUS groove on this record. The instrumental part of the album is rocking and bluesy and /loose/ but still very awesome. I was bobbing my head a LOT. The deep-voice whispered poetry delivery of the 'lyrics' was very Leonard Cohen-ish and I'd say LC knew all about Serge G. He pushed the 'fantasy' a bit too far a few times - notably the 'laughing' went from cute and bubbly to completely repulsive haha he just didn't know when to quit. The feeling of the final track really pushed this up in the ranking for me. The protagnoist's contemplation "I miss this girl terribly,.... but did I just get away with this terrible thing? do either of those things matter?" was actually quite compelling to me. I feel like I've watched a movie though he never showed me anything visual (except the evocative cover photo I guess) Truly an interesting piece of art, though overall my listening group found the premise to be somewhat revolting.

Seen this album cover a million times, so glad I finally get to check out the music behind it. The unfortunate thing is that it's all in french, and the story being told in the lyrics seems to be a pretty important part of it. Especially in the first track, which gives me vibes of 'The Gift' by The Velvet Underground, with a quieter instrumental in the background, and ASMR-esque vocals upfront. This opening and the similarly long closer are definitely the highlights, the closer especially has some great moments, but everything in between seems to just pass by so quickly. There's some nice melodies (pun intended) and instrumentals spread through this middle but without the lyrics to grasp onto, nothing really sticks. Glad I got the chance to check this out finally, but i don't see myself returning to it any time soon. Unless i suddenly become fluent in French.

Pretentious twaddle.

Pros: Nice background music. Pleasant voice. Cons: Recitation instead of singing. Disgusting plot: "This album is about a man hitting a 15ish year old girl on her bike with his Rolls Royce, who he then promptly falls in love with and seduces." It gets a 3 out of 5 thanks to good instrumentals.

Deeply unsettling

+1 for music

Not for me

Sounds like part of the soundtrack of a spy movie that takes place in France. Eh... at least it was short. The other kinda creepy thing was that Serge keep whispering into the mic, "Melody" all throughout and thought it was a bit much. Also WTF was that Maria Menounos laughing in "En Melody"? 4/10.

Well, I do not know French but even if I did I think I would of been bored

Vocal style was super grating. The music wasn't too bad. The subject matter of the album is pretty gross too.

Very French and horny

Close to being perfect in my mind. A bizarre mix of rocky riffs, orchestral bites, jazzy interludes and almost spoken word lyricism. It's clearly an inspiration for some of my favourite artists, beck, Alex Turner, and so on, but the overall theme leaves a gross taste in my mouth. It's so incredibly French, the sound of a cigarette and adultery in a bohemian hotel room. 09/07/23

Tout simplement immonde.

pervers dégueulasse qui bave dans le micro

oui. tres bien.

SEABASS! SEABASS! FETCH ME 3 MORE SEABASS AT ONCE. THESE CUSTOMERS ARE FURIOUS!

Sexy bastard

The music, as some commentators have said, is very proto-trip-hop. Orchestral funk, like Isaac Hayes was doing at the same time, except with a breathy Frenchman speaking over it instead of an anguished black American. Music - five out of five, album concept 1/5. It has not aged well, and sits along Maurice Chevalier in the French musical nonce list of shame. I have to give it a four ultimately. Yes a different time, but hard to think that even in the early seventies having a whole album based around a middle-aged man having sex with a fourteen-year old was pretty unpalatable.

Speciaal. Erg zweverig. Kort genoeg om er de aandacht bij te houden

Would be a 4star instrumental work. French spoken word? No

Horny French man becomes obsessed with 15 year old girl, knocks her up, and then she dies in a plane crash. There's really nothing redeemable about this one.

what an interesting sound - i need to listen again, especially since i speak french, to see if the story is actually good

I come away confused: this is such a strange album. I saw that it was French and came from on of the most famous French artists of the time but I just don't get it. A fully spoken word album is a little more bearable in French but at the end of the day still didn't enjoy it. Felt like a raspy old French radio host butting in over the lacklustre music to deliver some boring commentary to the listener.

Not pleasant for listening to.

What an odd one, very minimalistic, almost exclusively just spoken words about a sexual relationship with a 14 year old. Leave it to the French to create this and have it become a big hit

Well this was a surprise. I think this could be one of the coolest records ever made! Love the guitar work and you can hear the influences the record has had on other acts. The obvious French pop of Air, but Jarvis Cocker probably owes his delivery to Serge Gainsbourg.

4 if french

It's definitely French.

Cool French rock. 7.5/10.

An odd French pop album. Not something I thought I’d find myself enjoying but quite honestly in the end I found it both enjoyable and enlightening. A nice refresh even if I didn’t always feel like it hit whatever mark it was aiming for.

Pretty good

Not really my thing, especially given the context. 🤮

Unless the listener is fluent in French, there probably isn’t much to be gained from listening to this. The melodies (har har) aren’t strong or memorable enough to carry the album on their own.

This is an exquisitely made concept album for an absolutely horrifying concept. Musically, it works brilliantly in what it communicates--passion, intensity, the very "French" first love. The instrumentation and the spoken word is magnificent. It's an artwork. But dear God does it instill horror. Perhaps it is not as vile for the pedophile-friendly intelligentsia of France, but for a modern audience, it's... disgusting. It's disgusting in its earnestness and the energy and passion that underlines its conveyance. It's disgusting! This is hideous! Oh, and it did send me into a rabbithole of France's beautifully appalling history with pedo tolerance, so there's that... 4* for the musicality and 1* for the pedophilic (not-really-under)tones. Enjoyment? I don't know. You ever watch something that's absolute straight horror in how earnest it does some stuff? I mean, it made me FEEL, I guess? Maybe I'll give it a 4* for how effectively it creeped me out, eh? Sound about right.

Utterly louche-tastic – "gloriously seedy" is dead on. Could not groove more swingingly, putting one in mind of a French Rat Pack, but with more continental flair, plus some dark shadows to boot.

Weird but nice sound

Kinda fun. A weird storyline though, some of the tracks made me a little uncomfortable

This is what this whole 1001 greatest albums process is all about. Completely left-field choice, something I'd never even heard of before, a concept album in a different language - and it's a real, genuine hidden gem. What an atmosphere this album has. It's quite dark and dangerous and sexy and seductive. The music and production is incredible. I love the violins, the sudden explosion of drums, that deep driving bass. Very very good. I've given it about 3-4 listens now, and it'll definitely be one I go back to a fair bit. There's something really compelling about this. Album 192 and I've finally found my first 5 star album from an artist who was completely unknown to me beforehand - thank you!

mja, lite tråkigt kanske? tyckte om den första låten

not only French (derogatory) but PREDATORY FRENCH

skeptical of anything 'cool' or beloved by people who wear beanies in their late 20's i endeavoured to study the lyrics of this album. because musically is this fuck good enough to stand on its own. i expected to find a story that may perhaps vindicate this album a little bit from the charge of pretension. boy was i wrong. so from what i can gather serge crashes his rolls royce into a 14 year old girl with whom he instantly falls in love with, and plans to take her virginity. and this is set to the chord progression of 'hey joe'. "Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished work, as well as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music.[2]" - wikipedia silly fucking french nonce. its a bloody good thing we stuffed them at waterloo, or this sort of thing would be happening everywhere.

Sounds like instrumental rock -- between a rock opera. I don't think I enjoy the Spoken Word with it; however, I can see why it may be here. Definitely experimental. Would I listen to it again? No.

Rock. En francés.

Very cool stuff ! Drumming was fantastic, brilliant guitar choices, & the STRINGS ! Didn’t understand what blud was waffling bout but shoutout Melody Nelson ig 😹💯

Gainsbourg can't be disliked. This works in the background and in the foreground. I don't really know any of his songs, but I've never disliked one.

I've moaned a bit about how some of the albums thrown up by this app are little characterless - can't complain about this one, right? Sadly, despite surviving the British educational system I don't speak a lick of French (Latin though, anyone?) so the lyrics pass me by. Gainsbourg snuffles and moans over the top of far-out psych rock to a story, if Wikipedia is to be believed, about an ageing pervert's lust for a teenage girl he's knocked down in a car accident. All feels terribly European. I can't tell if this is a work of genius or the most chronic thing ever committed to tape, but it held my (sometimes bemused) attention throughout, so let's shake hands on four stars.

An overused word, but it feels like it applies perfectly here: vibes. The vibes are good. I've done some exploring of Gainsbourg and haven't come away enjoying each song or sound, but there's unison and mood on this record that worked for me from start to finish. Hoping we'll see some more on the list.

Wow. Didn’t know what to expect here but it wasn’t the awesomeness I was just exposed to. Happy to listen to again and explore the back catalogue.

Interesting. I had no idea what to expect, but on the whole I enjoyed this. The funky bass groove that starts pretty much straight away is addictive, and the drums and pretty - and that's appropriate in this case. Add to that grungy blue guitar riffing away and sonically this is right up my street. The orchestration is fine, although so much of it isn't necessarily my thing. I understand why spoken word lyrics can be divisive, but it works here for me. Most of my French comes from the kitchen and bar, so I don't understand enough of it, but I, unlike others it seems, have no issue with this being in French. And, hey, put your view of the record in context eh. Love the cover photography and design as well - from the backdrop, the shadow, the typography, the angle of that right foot, the way Birkin focuses her gaze right down the lens. Striking. I started the day thinking 3 or 4 stars. I'll end with a solid 4 - I don't think this is 5 and I'm not sure quite how often I'll listen to it again, but it gets up to 4 just by not being in English - we need less anglophone rock music on this list (I mean, really: no Pirates Choice or Night in Club Baobab? No Bhundu Boys?). Some of the reviews ("French!" etc...) suggest that 30p Lee's doing the project. Very interesting.

Wow very interesting French album, subject matter maybe a bit off, but musically this is brilliant wouldn’t believe this came out in 1971 way ahead of it’s time. Fact I don’t understand any of the lyrics probably helps with the enjoyment here.

Serge Gainsbourg, hm! French! Awesome! I liked it!

Tired trope the old man loves young girl thing... not for me

French

It's icky/provocative sure, but it's also a pretty incredible piece that has inspired much further greatness.

Nothing amazing, some decent melody but not particularly exciting or captivating

Some blues-pysch rock jam sessions with occasional symphonic elements, and a lot of spoken word vocals. Some tracks that sound a bit inspired by traditional or classical music, such as the short third track. I liked most of the music, but I often disliked the spoken word stuff. It seems likely that the album sounds creepy and predatory on purpose, and isn't just an outright celebration of pedophilia. Who knows though. Personally the themes and lyrics of an album matter very little to me compared to the music itself. The only part I didn't like were her noises on "En Melody" lol that was weird

Musically quite enjoyable, not too memorable. I don't really care for the french. 3 out of 10

3/4

Not heard this before and conflicted based on the subject matter. Musically 5/5. Concept 1/5. I'll give it a 3/5.

Creepy lush music.

I have heard the name before, but have no idea what to expect. This bassline is great, and speaking French over things usually makes them at least 37% cooler. Breathy French female vocals are hot. The orchestration elements are excellent. I could listen to this for 2 hrs 52 mins. That was incredible! I have never listened to Serge Gainsbourg before and I have to say I am know looking at his disography for more! 4 / 5 stars.

Specielt, fransk 70’er poprock, koncept album, edgy tema

It's a classic story. Man runs over teenage girl with a Rolls Royce, has an illicit affair with her in a sketchy hotel, and then she dies in a plane crash. I've been a fan of Serge Gainsbourg's songs for a long time, including "Ballade de Melody Nelson," but I'd never listened to this concept album of his. I quite enjoyed the progression of movements, incorporating orchestra and chorus along with sultry bass and funky guitar. It's a unique and compelling sound.

Well, my years of high school French weren’t enough for me to follow the details of this story, but the music was sure groovy. I can very much appreciate its influence. Now reading about the theme creeps me out, so I am going to try to ignore that…

It’s really a shame that the subject matter and cover photo are so revolting because musically I fucking loved this record.

Serge Gainsbourg is never dull. He’s also often quite challenging. This story that starts with a bike accident and ends with a plane crash by way of a statutory rape is no exception. Maybe I shouldn’t have listened a second time and followed along with the translations… If I remind myself that Serge is telling a story - creating a character, then squint my eyes, this is a pretty incredible musical piece. It would clearly have been a 5 after my first listen. After the second - when I followed along to the translation - I was quite put off and tempted to go to the other end of the scale. I guess this might be somewhat akin to listening to Don’t Stand So Close To Me or reading that famous book by Nabokov. Yet I still have to knock this a point since I will have to revisit these struggles if I listen to this again and talk myself through the creepy factor.

Not for me champ, I'm not avant-garde enough to appreciate the subtleties and nuance of an album about fucking a child.

I hadn’t heard of Serge Gainsbourg before today, but when I mentioned to my partner that this is who I’ll be listening to, she said he was some fancy French fella. I like some French pop (Yelle are fantastic) but she said that this music is likely very different. Let’s listen and find out! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Melody I’ve never understood why people found the French language to be sexy. It always sounded a little too phlegmy for me. However, holy guacamole Serge has a nice voice! His deep, rich, half singing half talking had me transfixed throughout. The only bits of French I understood was that Melody has red hair. I’m at a loss beyond that. Wikipedia says it’s about running someone over in a Rolls Royce and then falling in love with her. What a wacky adventure. I really liked it.

I can deal with the unsafe driving. I can live with the tale of pedophilia...errr...illicit love. I am fine with African cult rituals, but why does he have to whisper everything?

Is this Ok? I don’t think this is OK.

I think the band is fantastic. However, I can hear Serge's saliva. I don't like that. This album is a danger to me.

I don't understand French. Would this be more enjoyable if I did? I thought the guy singing/talking sounded really creepy most of the time, but the drummer knew what he was doing. I was really enjoying "En Melody" until the girl (Melody, I'm guessing) starting shrieking and laughing like the Nanny.

5 stars, and I’m only on the first song.

Well instrumented but undermined by a swampy pointlessness. A disappointing record.

WTF is this.

I need a cigarette.

So French.

jetaime who

I'm glad this was only 28 minutes long.

Les arrangemebts et la voix comme un recit est tres bien fait. 1ere ecoute mais j'ai adoré 4.75

Gillar Serge. Har lyssnat mycket på honom de senaste 10 åren men inte så mycket på just denna platta. Klart som fan att det är bra.

Not for me at all.

Serge! You sexy man! Ooo lala. His voice is like liquid chocolate... I'm loving this ganache of sweet tunes, littered with the sweet voice of an angel. Influential and sampled by many and reviled by an army of angry liberals I just yearn for his yellow stained fingers to stroke the nape of my neck.

ew hate it

Wow - I don't know what he's saying but it feels like a very sexy intimate view into something I shouldn't be allowed to see.

Dude I love the music, particularly the bass playing, but I don't need Serge telling me stories in French under his breath through the whole thing, especially when they're about a rich dude seducing a 15 year old. Nor do I particularly like his singing voice. Definitely know where Air got a big part of their sound now though.

Sounds fine but conceptually gross. I understand it's not a celebration of a middle-age guy going for a 15 year old but... why? Probably would help a lot if I understood French. Also is this pervert ASMR?

Sexy spoken-word music to objectify / seduce underage girls with. It's a French tradition!

Sounded like a French dude that wanted to bang me. I didn't hate it.

While the subject matter is pretty disgusting, the delivery method is, on the whole, pretty tasty. But lyrics are important, even if they're not in my primary language, and I can't give these anything more than 3 stars. Stop letching on kids, you damn creep. Gross.

Onneksi en jaksa keskittyä kuuntelemaan sanoja. Pointsit siitä, että on vahva teema: Melody Nelson.

"Melody Nelson"... En kuuntelisi vapaaehtoisesti.

Really good cohesive album, reading into the story was super interesting.

Interesting, different